A Bad Case Of Fangs
by Kaysway247
Summary: Beth moves to Bathory and befriends Vlad and Henry. But as their friendship progresses, so does Beth's curiosity. What are they hiding from her? Why is it such a big secret?
1. Meeting Vlad&Henry

_Hello Everyone! This is my first ever FanFic book, so I hope you enjoy it! I will post a new chapter after every 5 reviews! Thanks for reading!_

**Chapter 1: Beth**

"BETH! GET UP! YOU'LL BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" I groaned as I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed. School was the last thing I needed right now. I got a shower, got dressed and grabbed my backpack. My mom was in the kitchen, making pancakes and bacon. "Morning."

"Yeah. Morning."

"Honey, I know you're upset that we moved, but at least your room is bigger!" It was true. My room _was_ bigger, but I was still upset about moving. I had left my few close friends in Chicago to move to stupid old Bathory. But, despite my wishes, I was here, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I gulped down my breakfast, and left, not wanting to be late on my first day of school. I ran up the steps only to be stopped by a smelly old man in a suit. His faced looked like your fingers after you've been in the pool for a few hours, and his eyes were cold and hateful.

"No Running. I assume your new, as of you haven't followed one of the most basic rules."

"Yes sir. It's my first day." I sighed when I heard the bell ring.

"Not a very good impression you're making, showing up late on your first day." He tsk'ed me and called out to a dark-haired boy running up the steps. "Mr. Tod! Late again, are we?" The boy rolled his eyes. "Well, you may guide our new student to her classes, and with haste!" The teacher frowned at us as I followed the boy into the school.

"Creepy old dude, isn't he?" He smiled at me. "I'm Vladimir, but call me Vlad."

"Beth." I smiled back. I felt myself start to blush. He _was_ really cute. There was something about his dark eyes and his pale skin that made my heart skip a beat. "Oh, this is my locker. 1052"

"Cool yours is near mine." He smiled then walked down a few lockers to his. "So what's your first class?"  
>"Umm….. Health."<p>

"Same. I'll walk with you." We shut our lockers and ran down the halls and managed to make it in before the late bell rang. As I was walking behind Vlad towards the back, a pretty, tanned brunette dressed completely in pink flashed him a straight, white smile and said, "Hi Vlad."  
>"Hi Meredith." I saw his cheeks start to turn the color of her lip gloss as we sat down in the back of the classroom. After a few moments of watching Vlad glue his eyes to Meredith, I understood. He was seriously crushing on her. The fact brought a small pang of jealously to my heart, but I hushed it. I hardly knew Vlad. I had just met him, for crying out loud!<p>

For the rest of the period, I mostly just doodled around in my notebook. My mind wandered back to Chicago, and my best friends Jess and Lynn. Vlad peeked over and whispered, "That's really good!" I was startled, as I had been lost in my thoughts.

"Oh, these? They're just doodles."  
>"Well, they're very good doodles." He smiled at me and I felt myself blushing again. After another half hour of struggling, I went to my favorite class, Music, and took a seat in the front. I giggled when I saw Vlad walk in and said, "We have this class together too?"<p>

He smiled and was about to say something when the teacher, Ms. Pym walked in. "Good morning class! My name is Ms. Pym. This semester we shall be sight reading music and working with the piano! Is there anyone here who already has experience with the piano? Anyone?"

I smiled and raised my hand. "I do."  
>"Ah, very good, Miss…?"<br>"Henson. Beth Henson."

"Okay, Beth, would you like to show us some of your work?"

"Sure, but I may be a little rusty." I smiled as I walked over to the huge piano. My heart beat faster as I sat down on the bench. I closed my eyes as I decided what to play. I opened them and rested my fingers on the keys. I took a deep breath and began to play Steve's Theme from The Last Song. I let myself go as my hands flowed over the piano keys. Every note I played warmed my heart, and I knew that in front of the piano was where I was meant to be. As I finished the song, I was snapped back to reality when the class started to clap.

"Wonderful, Ms. Henson, just beautiful!"  
>"Thank you." I said as I blushed.<p>

"Wow. You can really play!" Vlad whispered.

"Yea, my Grandma taught me. That song was my favorite." I smiled as I remembered days of learning it. I practiced for hours on end until I had had it perfectly memorized. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention during class, since most of what Ms. Pym was teaching was stuff I already knew. After class, Vlad walked with me to our lockers.

"Do you think you could tutor me, if I need it?"  
>I laughed. "Sure." I opened my locker and grabbed my bagged lunch out of my bag, and walked with Vlad to the Cafeteria.<p>

"You wanna sit with me?"  
>"Uh, sure, I guess." I sat down across from Vlad and we mostly sat in silence until a tall, tan boy sat down next to Vlad. He looked over at me, gaped, and said "Hey Vlad, don't you think it's kinda rude not to introduce me to your new friend?"<p>

"Oh right. Henry, this is Beth, Beth this is my best friend Henry."

"Pleasure to meet ya, Beth!" I reached out to shake his hand, but instead he pulled my hand closer and kissed it. I blushed, pulling my hand back to my side. I had never really considered myself pretty, but I never saw myself as ugly. I was fairly sized chest-wise, pale, blue eyed and had dark hair that I dyed black. I never really had an acne problem and I usually didn't wear globs of makeup. So I pretty much considered myself average.

I didn't talk much during lunch, except for when Henry asked me, "Do you have plans for this afternoon?"

"Not really, unless you count unpacking boxes and being completely bored as plans." I grinned.

"Well, then why don't you hangout with me and Vlad after school?" Henry said leaning over the table.

"Uh, sure, I guess." I started to blush again. This time, I saw Vlad stiffen and whisper to Henry. I was a little confused, but I didn't pay it much attention.

Soon enough, the school day was over, and I was walking with Henry and Vlad to Vlad's house. When we got there, a woman walked out of the kitchen and said "Hi Vlad! I see you've brought a new friend…." Her eyes flashed to me, and then back to him.

"Right, Nelly, this is Beth. Beth, this is Nelly."  
>I extended my hand out to her. "Nice to meet you."<br>"Nice to meet you too! Well, there's some Pepsi in the fridge, and some snacks in the cabinet, so feel free to help yourselves."  
>"Don't have to tell me twice, Nelly!" Henry grinned and walked over to the fridge to get a Pepsi.<p>

"I doubted I would Henry! Anyways I've got to be going. My shift is going to start soon." With that, she kissed Vlad on the head and then left.

"Beth, want a soda?" Henry yelled from the kitchen.

"Yea, sure." I followed Vlad into the family room and sat down on the couch. Henry came in a few seconds later, handed me my Pepsi and sat down on the recliner.

"Dude, I just got the new Battlefield! Wanna play?" Vlad asked, already setting up the controllers.

"Are you kidding? How'd you get it already! It just came out today!" I gaped.

"Gotta love pre-ordering!" Vlad laughed and tossed me a controller.

After about an hour of playing, I had to hit the can. "Hey Vlad? Uh, where's the bathroom?" I asked, sheepishly.

"Oh, through the kitchen, first door on your left."  
>"Thanks." I got up and found the bathroom. After I was coming back through the kitchen, I heard Henry and Vlad talking. I stopped behind the wall and listened.<p>

"Dude, you like her! You've got a crush on Beth!"

"No, I don't! I just met her!" I giggled as I could picture Vlad blushing.

"Are you going to tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"You know, about….. you."

"What? Are you crazy? She doesn't need to know! And besides, we just met her today! At least let's wait it out." I got curious. What didn't I need to know?  
>"Are you sure? She seems like she can keep a secret…." Secret? There was a secret between them? Was it important?<p>

"Not yet, okay? Not now." With that I walked back in and resumed playing with them, my mind still reeling from what I heard. What were Vlad and Henry hiding from me? I tried to shake the thought from my head, but I couldn't.

I lay awake that night thinking about Vlad. There was something about him that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Mysterious, almost.

Also, did I like him? It was obvious enough that he liked Meredith, but I couldn't help but think about how gorgeous he was. I drifted off to sleep with his beautiful dark eyes still in my head.

_Well, what did you think? Let me know in a review!_


	2. Halloween

_Hello! I was really anxious and excited to post this so I am going to post a new chapter everyday for a few days! Hope you enjoy it and don't forget to write a review!_

**Chapter 2: Halloween**

"So Beth, what are you dressing up as for Halloween?" Vlad asked.

"Not telling!" I giggled and half-skipped up Vlad's steps. It had become pretty normal for me and Henry to hangout at Vlad's house after school. Neither of them had seen my house since I moved here a week ago. My Mom wasn't home until late at night, and she would _kill_ me if she found out I had had boys in the house when she wasn't there.

"Awww, no fair! Vlad and I told you what we're being!" Henry whined and lightly punched me in the arm. I pretended to be hurt and put on my best puppy dog eyes.

"Stinks for you, then don't it?" I giggled as Henry grumbled and plopped down on the recliner.

"Hi guys! I got off my shift today!" Nelly smiled as she walked into the room. "You know what that means, right?"

"COOOKIEEESSS!" The two eighth grade boys acted like second graders as they bounced around on the sofa, giddy at the thought of sweet, homemade cookies. I laughed and watched them.

"Nelly, do you want some help baking them?" I asked, a little anxious for some alone time with her. She thanked me for the help and we walked into the kitchen to retrieve the cookbook. "Also, I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Of course, honey, what do you need?" I paused, and then whispered into her ear. "Oh, I see. Yes, alright I'll help you." After that, the only thing we talked about was school, and how the chocolate chunk cookies were coming along. By the time they were all finished, Vlad and Henry had come in to the kitchen and were nearly drooling all over themselves. I giggled at their hypnotized faces. I picked the plate up and watched their eyes follow it as I moved it all around until I couldn't breathe from laughing so hard. Finally I held the plate out and they both greedily stuffed a cookie into their mouths.

"Deyr amashing Beff" Henry spewed crumbs across the table as he tried to compliment the cookies with his mouth full.

"Well it wasn't just me, Nelly did an excellent job as well." I smiled and took a cookie myself. They were like heaven on earth.

The next two days seemed to speed by, and soon enough it was Halloween. Vlad, Henry and I were all going to Matthew's party, so they were going to come over to my house, then we would all walk together. I was just finished putting on the final touches to my costume. I was the Prom Queen of the Dead. Nelly had agreed to help me take a black dress I had and turn it into the perfect Zombie Dress.

The dress had started out as a black sleeveless dress that puffed out at the hips and had a red bow tied around the torso. It came down to above my knees, and was white at the bottom with black splotches blooming down it. Nelly and I had taken the bow and had placed several slashes in it, wrinkled it and caked a little dirt on the edges to give it the perfect touch. Then, we took some black heels I had and sewed on some dark brown and green fishnet fabric. Finally, we took one of Nelly's plain black headbands, taken a little bit of red silk and leftover brown and green fishnet and made a bow out of it. It looked truly amazing.

I had just finished putting on my makeup when my mom called upstairs to say that Vlad and Henry were here. I took one last look in the mirror before I rushed downstairs. I ran into the kitchen and saw Vlad and Henry gape at me as I walked in.

"Hi guys! You ready to go?" I blushed as they tried to pull themselves together. Vlad was the first to speak.

"Uh, y-yeah, let's go.." That's when I noticed the plastic fangs in his mouth.

"Cool fangs Vlad." I saw Vlad stiffen for a second and then relax.

"Oh yea, right, thanks. It's amazing what you can get at the dollar store!" I laughed, and then told my Mom we'd be back after midnight. With that we left out the door and started to walk towards Matthew's house.

"Matthew called me earlier, said that Meredith would be there." Henry informed Vlad, who returned with a glare. I felt a pang of jealousy ring through me. I zoned out when Henry and Vlad started talking about how many girls Henry kissed, because I honestly didn't care. It was when we got closer to Matthew's house that I saw Vlad's stare. I followed his gaze to Matthew's deck to see Meredith standing there in blue, with angel wings. Another ripple of jealousy came through me, and I clenched my fists.

"Hey, want some candy?" I saw Henry snicker as he eyed a group of little kids.

"I shouldn't. Nelly's still ticked about last year." This left my mind reeling again with more questions. What happened last year?

"Oh come on! It'll be funny! Besides…. If you don't do it, I'll totally tell Meredith that you like her."  
>"Dude! Not cool!" Vlad snapped. I felt bad for Vlad and stepped in.<p>

"Here, just take my candy Henry." I handed over a bag of candy I had leftover from my Mom's work party.

"Awww but it's not as fun!" Henry whined.

"Well, you wanted candy, here's candy." I said and rolled my eyes. As we walked up Mathew's driveway, Vlad whispered a thank you to me. As we walked inside the party, we made a mental note to avoid the parents. The bass was booming loud and there were colorful lights everywhere. It really was a cool party. I wandered around, seeing a few friends from Music. I waved, a little more interested in finding Vlad. I saw him, and was walking over when two huge guys stopped me.

"Hey, we know you. You hang out with goth boy over there." They both laughed.

"His name is Vlad, and he's not goth."

"Yeah, whatever, nerd." The boys howled with laughter as I looked down at my feet blushing madly.

"Why don't you idiots leave her alone?" I looked up to see Vlad standing a little ways in front of me.

"Oh my god, check this geek out!"  
>"Yeah, nice costume, goth boy." They smirked, and I helplessly stood there, not knowing what to do.<p>

"Nice breath, loser." Vlad snapped, walking away from them.

"Bite me!" One of them shouted as they started to leave. I stopped and turned around to thank Vlad, but he was gone. Being shy, and not knowing what to do, I started to look around for him or Henry. I soon found Vlad, but he had a pained expression on his face as he was stomping out of the house and down the street. I followed, wanting to comfort Vlad when he looked so distressed. Henry soon ran out after me yelling to Vlad, "That's not what it looked like!"

"This was a mistake. Maybe I should just go home." Vlad whispered, his voice cracking some.

"What about Meredith?" Henry asked, stopping Vlad.

"It looked like she was in good hands." He shrugged his hand off and continued to walk into the street.

"You got it all wrong. I was trying to hook you up for the dance. You believe me, don't you?" Henry looked a little anxious.

Vlad forced a smile. "Of course I do." I saw Henry relax.

"Did you hear about Mr. Craig?" Mr. Craig, our teacher, had been out for a little while. Everybody had been spreading rumors, saying he was abducted, robbed, shot, murdered, and hospitalized, and so on. Nothing sounded true, but everyone was definitely on edge. I snorted.

"He better be back in soon. I am getting sick of Snelgrove's pop quizzes."  
>"People are saying he's been declared missing." We all stopped. I looked at Henry, not sure I heard him right. Mr. Craig? Missing?<p>

"No way, does anybody know anything?"  
>"Not really. They say he just up and disappeared."<br>"Weird."

"Yeah…." Henry trailed off. We all walked for a few moments in silence. "Hey, did you see Stephanie's sister in there? She was looking pretty nice." Henry smirked, and I slapped him upside the head.

"Dude, seriously, she's twelve." I chuckled as Henry rubbed the back of his head and glared at me. We walked in silence for the rest of the walk, no one really talking about where we should go, all of us just kind of ending up at Vlad's house. We plopped into our usual seats, Vlad and I on the couch and Henry on the recliner. Vlad grabbed the remote and turned on Nosferatu. After that Henry demanded we watch Dracula. Halfway through it we all started getting sleepy. It was just getting to the romantic dinner scene with Dracula and Mina when I fell asleep.

My dream started where I was dressed in a fancy ball gown. The gown flowed to the floor in swirls and was blood red. My hair was tied up in a bun. I was seated at the head of a long, glamorous table, and a shadowed figure. I squinted and called out to it.

"Hello? Who are you?" I squinted through the dim lighting to try to make out any facial features. The figure stood up and took slow, cautious steps towards me until he stepped into the light. I gasped. I was staring at an older version of Vlad. He still . He closed the distance between them and held her shoulders tighter and started shaking her.

"Beth…. Beth…. Beth! Beth!" I opened my eyes to see Vlad shaking me to wake me up.

"W-what time is it?" I grumbled. Vlad chuckled.

"One in the morning…" I fumbled around, still half asleep. How long had I been asleep? My mother must be worried. I looked over to see Henry passed out on the recliner. I stood up, but got dizzy and started to fall over. Vlad caught me and I blushed madly. I could see him smiling in the darkness. I suddenly became VERY aware of how he was holding my arms. Apparently, he became aware as well, and let go of me. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "Why don't you call your mom?"

I groaned. I knew as soon as she picked up the phone that she would yell at me. I reached over to my purse and whipped out my phone. I called my mom's cell phone number and waited until she picked up.

"Hi Mom. Sorry I'm calling so late, but I need you to come pick me up at Vlad's house. I'm so sorry! Thanks Mom, love you. Bye." I hung up and stretched. "My mom will be here in a few minutes." I informed him, and yawned. "Anyways, I'm going shopping with my Mom over the weekend, so I'll see you guys on Monday." I saw the headlights flash through the window.

"Yea, see ya Monday…." I looked over at him, and then leaned over and gave him a hug. I felt Vlad stiffen and then awkwardly hugged me back. I felt my heart skip a few beats, and then beat faster. I let go and mumbled, "See you later…" and then skipped out the front door to my Mom's waiting car.

For the second time this week, I lay awake, thinking about Vlad. I still was a little shaken by my dream. Why had Vlad appeared as Dracula? Did it mean anything? Did it mean I had a crush on Vlad? I couldn't have a crush on him. If he found out, it could ruin a potentially amazing friendship. I sighed as I rolled over onto my side and slowly began to succumb to sleep.

_YAAAY! Hope you all enjoyed it! Remember- review!_

_I'll *hopefully* be posting the next chapter within the next 48 hours!_


	3. Mr Otis Otis

_Welcome back! Sorry it took me so long to update this chapter! I just started cross country practice, I've been working on a piano song, and I've been just plain old busy enjoying what's left of my summer! _

_Another side note- I am starting to get really sick of having to copy direct dialog from the book, so I am just going to make it up as I go along! I will only be using the books for a timeline reference, and to keep SOME things straight from the book._

_Other than that, enjoy!_

**Chapter 3: Mr. Otis Otis**

The weekend sped by way too fast for my likings. All too soon I was walking out of my house to go to school. My iPod was blasting my favorite number from The Phantom of the Opera; Masquerade. I started humming as I shuffled my feet, my hands shoved in my sweatshirt pockets. Out of nowhere, a pair of strong hands grabbed onto my shoulders. I screamed and jumped forward, whipping around to see Henry doubled over laughing, and Vlad walking up behind him, chuckling quietly.

"Henry, you stupid pig, you gave me a heart attack!" I said, dramatically clutching at my heart. Once he could calm himself down, Henry spoke.

"Sorry Beth, had to!" He snickered. I rolled my eyes, and stuck an ear bud back in my ear and turned my volume down.

"Anyone else wishing Snelgrove's not our substitute still?" I asked crossing my fingers. We all agreed as we walked into the middle school. We made our way to our lockers, and I looked over to see Vlad and Henry making googly-eyes. I didn't even need to turn around to know who was behind me. I caught a flash of pink as Meredith and her best friend that Henry had a crush on, Melissa, walked by.

I rolled my eyes and slammed my locker shut. I felt a gnawing feeling at the pit of my stomach. I snapped my fingers in front of the boys to make them focus.

"Guys! We're gonna be late!" As if removed from a trance, both Henry and Vlad snapped back to reality. Vlad mumbled a good-bye to Henry and then left with me to go to Health. After suffering an extremely long class period of listening to "g-g-gonads", we all but ran out of the classroom when the bell rang.

After music class, Vlad and I walked into English and slumped into our usual seats in the back. I look over to see Vlad staring at Meredith, who was giggling with Melissa. I sighed and turned to the front of the classroom. The bell rang, signaling that our next, long and boring class could begin. As it did, a rather strange man walked in to our classroom and began writing on the chalkboard. He was rather pale, with blonde hair and was wearing a jacket, tie and dress pants, as well as a rather large, purple top hat. He finished writing the word, "Mythology" on the front board and then gracefully swooped around to face the class.

"Good morning class. My name is Mr. Otis. Being as my last name is the same as my first, you may call me by either as long as the formal 'Mister' precedes it. I shall be temporarily taking the place of your former English teacher, Mr. Craig." He paused to look around at the class, his eyes landing on Vlad. His gaze seemed a little curious, but didn't last longer than a few seconds. He then continued on with his speech.

"I'm sure Mr. Craig was a very excellent teacher, and I shall do my best to live up to his ever high standards. Some might even think I'm rather dashing, or handsome." He said with a smile, his eyes landing on Melissa who began to blush. He swept forward and retrieved a note that was on Meredith's desk. I wondered how he knew they were passing notes. I hadn't even noticed it! I shook the thought off with the excuse that he _was_ the teacher, and that he should notice things like that.

"I am to be filling Mr. Craig's place for an indefinite period of time; I have come up with a plan for the whole year." He began passing out papers to the class, taking his time at each desk. "I have taught English in the past, but I have also taught Mythology."

Someone the class raised their hand. "How long have you been teaching for Mr. Otis?" He smiled. "A while, I guess…" He replied in a rather mysterious tone.

At this point, I snuck a glance at Vlad. He looked confused about something. I was a little concerned, but mostly just relieved that he wasn't drooling over Meredith. I then gave my full attention back to Mr. Otis.

"I shall be teaching you English while also teaching you Mythology. We will be reading and writing essays on different mythical creatures, such as werewolves, pegasuses, and vampires." He seemed to hesitate before he said vampires. I didn't pay it much mind. I was just excited that would get to learn about vampires! I was sort of obsessed with them. My Dad used to show me different books about them, along with movies and drawings that he made of them. He was mesmerized by them. Sometimes he would talk as if they were as real as I was, and that they were among us. I used to think it was a little odd, but then I found myself really getting into it. I started reading more books, watching more movies. It was the one thing that bonded us.

I shook away my daydream and then snuck one more glance at Vlad. It was then that I saw Melissa slip him a note. I tried to peek over to see what it read, but before I could, he crumpled it up and threw it on the ground, a pained look crossing his face. I made a mental note to ask him about it. Finally, the bell rang and we rushed out of the classroom, and to our lockers. On our way into the cafeteria, the two boys from Halloween pushed Vlad. They laughed, and I gave them the evil eye as they stalked off. When Vlad got up, his lunch was squashed and his shirt was stained from his lunch. As he was walking over to the telephone to call Nelly, Snelgrove stopped him.

"And just what do you think you're doing, Mr. Tod?"

"I was going to call Nelly and ask her to drop me off a new shirt and lunch."

"That shall not be necessary, Mr. Tod. You can order a hot lunch instead." After a small protest, Vlad sulked over to our table.

"I can't believe he won't let you call Nelly!" Vlad sat down and scowled.

"Yea, he's such a jerk." Just then Meredith came over and held out a half of a sandwich. Vlad looked down at his hands.

"Here Vlad, you can have half of my sandwich." Vlad still didn't say anything, so Henry stepped in.

"Thanks Meredith!" He took the sandwich and set it down. Meredith blushed and walked away. As soon as she did, Vlad's head shot up.

"What are you doing?"

"It's called being polite, you dork." Henry shrugged, and Vlad sighed.

"I was going to talk, I just needed a minute…" As Henry and Vlad started talking quietly, I started to recall all of my memories I spent with my Dad learning about vampires. I was still reminiscing about my Dad when Henry interrupted my thoughts.

"So, Beth, are we hanging out today at Vlad's after school? We haven't hung out all weekend." Henry asked while shoving food into his mouth. I laughed at his obnoxious behavior.

"Well, piggy, I would love to, but I can't." Henry put on his best puppy dog eyes and pouted.

"Awww, why not Beth?" He whimpered. The end product was more creepy than cute.

"Cross Country. I'm joining the team, and the coach is going to train with me until Track and Field in the spring." I said, and guzzled water, the thought giving me butterflies at the pit of my stomach. I loved running. When my Mom and Dad started fighting, I found myself leaving the house and running down the street to the park. Eventually, I started going for runs daily, and I was getting really good.

"Doesn't the middle school cross country practice with the High School Team?" he asked. I nodded in reply.

"That's cool. Are you going to be in any meets?" Henry sputtered between mouthfuls.

"Yea, but it's only versus the Stokerton High School, nothing huge." I said with a shrug.

"Awesome! Vlad and I will totally come! Right Vlad?" Henry turned to his best friend, who started to squirm.

"I don't know, those are supposed to be really long." I did my best to look upset.

"Awww, come on Vlad. It would be so nice to finish looking into those gorgeous eyes." Both boys stared at me, and as I realized what I had said, my face turned as red as the tomatoes on my sandwich. I sheepishly started nibbling on my sandwich as Vlad chuckled.

"Yea, alright, I'll come. How long are you running for?" I perked up.

"Oh, the race is 3 miles long, and since I'm at 6:30 miles, I'll probably run for…." I paused as I did the mental math. "Approximately twenty minutes." I smiled with satisfaction.

"Well good luck! And just remember- you'll be missing out on a fun time!" I chuckled.

"Alright Henry, whatever you say."  
>Soon enough, my classes were over, and I was changed and walking over to the High School. I was bubbling with excitement and nervousness. Would the other runners like me? What if I did worse at the meet? What if I'm way worse than them? What if I'm better than them?<br>Questions clouded my mind as I walked towards the track. As soon as I got there, I noticed Mr. Marne talking to a small group of girls that I assumed was the high school girl's cross country team. My heart fluttered as I walked over to them. Mr. Marne took notice of me and motioned for me to stand next to him.

"Alright ladies, listen up. This is Beth. She's joining our team a little late, but better late than never, right?" A few girls mumbled 'Right.' After that he launched into a speech about our upcoming meet, and then dismissed us for warm-ups. Not sure where to go, I decided to tag along behind a small group and kept at their pace. Soon enough we were done the warm-up and were stretching. I sat down next to a petite girl with blonde hair and fair skin and started to butterfly stretch.

"Hi. I'm Scarlet." She smiled, and held out her hand. I smiled as well, and shook her hand.

"Beth. Do you go to the high school? I haven't seen you around the middle school." I blabbed. Scarlet just smiled and shook her head.

"No, but I'm a freshman at the high school." She said, standing up. I stood up with her and then tuned in to Mr. Marne who was beginning to explain the workout we would complete today. We would run the race course, but taking our time to notice the markers. Throughout the whole practice, Scarlet, and two of her friends she introduced me to, Lacey and Aimee, chatted about school, teachers, and how long we've been running.

Lacey was tall, with sleek black hair and a bronze-y tan. Aimee had freckles and had curly brown hair that was tucked into a ponytail and a head band.

After practice was over, Aimee offered me a ride home. I took her up on her offer and slid into her cute mini-cooper with Lacey and Scarlet. We all sang our hearts out and danced in our seats like we've been best friends since birth. I felt so right, like I finally fit in somewhere. I didn't feel like an outcast, or a nerd. I just felt like a normal teenage girl.

When I got home, I walked around her room in a daze. Today had been… eventful. I was tired and still had loads of homework to do. About an hour or so into my Social Studies homework, I started to feel myself fall asleep. Feeling extremely exhausted, I let myself succumb to slumber, and laid my head down on my textbook, my vision slowly slipping away. I awoke a half hour later, and shifted my heavy eyes over towards the window to see if it was dark out yet. When I did, I jumped right up out of my seat. For a split second, I could have sworn I saw the figure of a man crouched on the roof outside of my window. I tried to calm myself down when I realized it was just an illusion, but I couldn't shake the scary thought of the man's face. I recognized it for sure, but it was odd, as if it were the face of a distant memory, a glimpse from my past. I was climbing into bed when the thought suddenly came to me.

The face I had seen was that of Mr. Otis.

_OOOH scary! Please leave a review, and I will update as soon as I can! Thanks!_


	4. All Pain, No Game

_Welcome back lovies! I hope you have all been crazy waiting for this chapter!... Or not, but whatever your situation is, here you go! Chapter 4! _

**Chapter 4: All Pain, No Game**

I stared at the alarm clock on my nightstand next to my bed. 5:58. I felt bubbles of excitement wash through me. Today was my meet versus Stokerton High for cross country. 5:59. I imagined myself winning the meet, record timing, everybody cheering for me, Vlad standing there and congratulating me… BEEP! BEEP! I slammed down hard on my alarm clock as it rang out loudly, announcing that it was officially time to get up and get my day started. I quickly showered and straightened my hair, then threw on my favorite pair of skinny jeans, a cute t-shirt and my lucky pair of socks. I wore these socks every time I had had a track meet in the past, and I had won most of my races, and at least improved time in the ones I didn't. I did my makeup extra special, and even made pancakes. I was feeling ecstatic. My mom came downstairs as I was flipping pancakes, humming to myself.

"Somebody's in a good mood. Is it a special day?" I smiled and flipped the last pancake. I turned to reply to her.

"Yes it is! Today's my track meet versus Stokerton!" I squealed, though my excitement started to fade as an apologetic look started to form on my Mom's face. I knew that look. I had seen it too many times. It was the look that said, 'Sorry, honey. Work is gonna be really tight today, and I don't think I'll be able to make it.' I sighed. She hadn't come to any of my meets throughout my whole life. I turned around in disappointment as I felt tears forming in my eyes.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry! Work's just…"  
>"Tight, yea, I know Mom." I sniffled. Then I felt a comforting hand land on my shoulder. I turned around to see my Mom with tears streaming down her cheeks.<p>

"Oh, Beth! I feel so ashamed! I haven't been to any of your meets at all! I haven't gone to anything! I know it must seem like I don't care, but I do! I work so hard so I can give you such a great life, a life better than what I had!" I felt tears roll into my eyes. I pulled her into a hug, and we just stood there until I remembered the pancakes. I pulled a way and smiled, wiping away my tears.

"I've gotta get the pancakes, or else they'll burn." I finished making the pancakes, and for the first time in way too long, my Mom sat down with me for breakfast. We talked about how school was, how messed up her work was, how nice the neighbors were to help them plant flowers. I felt myself smiling from ear to ear, even as I was leaving the house to go to school. I plugged my earphones into my ears, and turned on Na Na Na by My Chemical Romance. I couldn't help but hum along. Out of paranoia, I turned around to see Henry and Vlad running up behind me.

"Hey, Beth, wait up!" Vlad called out. I laughed as they caught up, and linked my arms into theirs and started skipping towards the school. Both boys wiggled their arms out of mine, but I didn't care. I was giddy.

"What's with all the excitement?" Henry asked. I grinned broadly at him and replied.

"Today's the day! My track meet versus Stokerton High is this afternoon!" I chirped.

"Oh, that's right! Count on me to be there Beth" Henry flashed me one of his winning smiles, and then both of us turned to Vlad, who started to squirm.

"How about you, Vlad? Are you going to come?" I asked.  
>"Duh. Of course." He grinned and returned to his iPod. I didn't give him much of a chance to, though, because I tackled him in a bear hug.<p>

"YAY! I'm so excited!" I felt the butterflies kicking in, and school hadn't even started yet.

My classes seemed to take forever to start and end, the day sluggishly moving forward. Even my favorite class, Music, seemed to take _way_ too long. Finally, the last class had ended, and as soon as the bell rang, I hopped up out of my seat and ran to my locker. I grabbed my backpack and uniform, said a quick "Hi!" to Henry and Vlad, and then rushed to the girl's locker room. I quickly threw on my uniform and spandex and pulled my hair tightly in a ponytail. I tied up my racing sneakers that I had already broken into and gave myself one last glance in the mirror. I smiled, and ran out the door.

I walked as fast as I could up to the high school stadium, and found my teammates getting ready to warm up. I followed them to the track, and we did three laps as a warm-up. The official announced on the bullhorn that the boy's 5K would race first, then the girl's 5K. I was running the 5K, so I was pretty nervous. I saw my hands start to shake, and I tried to calm them down, but failed miserably. I looked over to see Vlad and Henry walking over towards me. I grinned and walked towards them.

"Hey!"  
>"Hey Beth! Good luck out there!" Vlad said, and smiled. I nearly melted as I stared into his eyes.<br>"Yea, thanks. Hey, I want you guys to go stand over there." I said, pointing towards the snack stand. "I want you guys to be there when I finish. Anyways, I gotta go, they'll be starting my race soon." I waved goodbye to them and made my way over to Scarlet, Lacey and Aimee.

"So is that _Vlaaaad_?" Aimee giggled. "He's cute. I can see why you like him." My face automatically flushed and I lightly punched her arm.

"I do not like Vlad!"

"Okaaay, whatever you say Beth." Lacey teased. I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"Girls, 5K! To the starting line please!" The official's voice rang out clear through the stadium, and made my stomach churn. I was a nervous wreck. Aimee and Lacey wished me and Scarlet good luck, since they were running the two mile race, and then we joined the other girls at the starting line.

"Alright girls, all of you know where the markers are, correct?" The official asked. Everybody nodded their heads, and he assigned us an order to start in. "Good. Now I want a nice, clean race. Everybody stays in the order until you have a good stride going, then you may cut to the inside of the course. If you feel sick or injured, there will be a helper every three markers. Alright, good luck out there girls." With that, he backed away from the course and put his whistle in his mouth. The sound of it being blown to alert the coaches rippled through my stomach. The official raised his gun up to the air, and said, "On your mark!" Everybody teetered, all of us wanting to start. "Get set!" Everybody crouched into their starting position.

As if in slow motion, the official pulled the trigger on the gun, and the loud pop rung throughout the stadium, electrifying my body, pumping it full of pure adrenaline. I started to run forward, not too fast, keeping a good pace to last me the whole 3.1 miles. I felt the majority of girls fall in line behind me, two or so ahead of me by just a couple of strides. I didn't let the sight of them tempt me to keep their speed. No, I would save my energy for the end, where I would give it my all and sprint to the finish. But for now, I would just have to be patient. I saw the first marker and smiled as I twisted around it. My legs were pushing me forward with tremendous force, and I was flying. I wasn't sprinting, but I was surely making good time. I didn't have a watch on me, but I didn't want to pressure myself, so I just kept calm, and didn't worry about time. Yet.

I saw the first helper, and smiled to the lady as she cheered me on. 'Good pace, keep going.' I thought to myself.

As I rounded the bend, I saw the two girls just a few yards ahead of me, and there in front of them was the one mile mark. I felt a small, dull pain forming in my side, and frowned. A side stitch now was not good news. I could run through them, but they slowed me down a bit.

As I came to the second mile marker, the pain had grown, but wasn't sharp, or stabbing. I grimaced as my foot rolled a bit in a small hole. I didn't let it bother me, I kept going. I could see the finish line in the Stadium to my left. All I had to do now was finish running the length of the soccer field, run around the stadium, enter and run 3/4 of a loop, and I was done. I used my arms to swing me forward, and I felt my momentum growing faster. I sped through the soccer field, passing the first girl. Then, I caught up to the second girl and kept her pace. I was doing good. We both entered the stadium at the same time, and we both started sprinting the last 3/4 loop. This was it! I used my long legs to pull myself ahead of the Stokerton girl as we rounded the bend. Yes! Just a small, 100 meters to go, and I would win.

Then, all of a sudden, I felt a small twinge in my thigh, and immediately after, an overwhelming pain. I cried out as my legs failed me and I tripped landing flat on my face. My momentum sent me down the ground hard, and I felt blood rushing to my cheek. The girl that I had just passed ran straight past me, not bothering to help me up. I heard my name being called, but I didn't bother answering. My head hurt from hitting it, and right now, all that I cared about was taking a nap, making the pain go away. I felt my vision slipping away, and suddenly, the pain was gone, and I blacked out.

_OH NO! Poor Beth! The only way to find out what happened is to review and wait for me to post the next chapter! _

… _Or if you're smart, you can guess! Anyways, I won't have too much of a chance to write this week. I, as well as Beth, run cross country, so I will be pretty busy! So, if in a review, you want to leave any tips at all, feel free to! Also, tell me what you thought of this chapter! Thanks!_


	5. Never Going Back

_Ooooh! What happened to Beth? You'll just have to read the chapter to find out!_

_*DISCLAIMER* I do not own Vladdy Tod, no matter how much I wish I could.  
>*snuggles up to imaginary Vlad*<em>

**Chapter 5: Never Going Back**

"Beth! Beth! Oh, please get up Beth!" I felt strong hands shaking my shoulders. I wanted to open my eyes, but I wanted to sleep at the same time. However, they were open enough to see my Mom leaning over me, her face distraught and concerned.

"Mom?" I whispered. She smiled and let out a sigh of relief.I felt my Mom pull me into a hug, but I was still very confused. I sat myself up and tried to understand my surroundings until it all clicked. I had been running, and I fell because my thigh hurt. I looked down at the leg that hurt, and tried to bend my knee. I felt the pain growing in my thigh, and stopped, my pain being clear on my face. I shook it away, and turned to face my Mom.

"Mom, I thought you had work?" She smiled.

"I did, but I finally was able to take some time off."

I saw the trainer come over with his humongous first aid kit, and take out some BioFreeze, stuff that warms up your muscles so you can stretch it out, and help the hurt muscle.

"Beth! You scared us!' I saw Aimee and Lacey smiling at me, but I couldn't bear to return the favor at the moment. The pain in my thigh was nearly excruciating.

"Did… did I win?" I saw them exchange glances with the coach, who looked down on me with concern. After a few seconds he spoke up.

"Well, Beth... you didn't finish, but we're going to approximate your time. On the bright side, we're going to award you second place." He said, smiling at me. I plastered one on my face, still disappointed I didn't win.

"Beth? I'm going to need you to show me where it hurts, okay?" The trainer asked. I pointed to my thigh, and explained what happened in detail to the trainer. He nodded occasionally, and took out some gauze and pre-wrap.

"Alright, honey, it sounds like you pulled a muscle. I'm going to put some BioFreeze and gauze on it, but you're not going to like what I have to say next." He told me while putting on some white rubber gloves. I braced myself for whatever he had to say. "The only way it's gonna heal completely is if you rest it. That means no running until this is healed, alright?" I nodded, in a daze. Running was like my secret sanctuary. It was my one place to escape to when nothing would go right, and now I had to give it up?  
>I sighed and watched him put the BioFreeze on my thigh. The gel was FREEZING cold, and had an odd smell to it. I let it sink in a little bit, then he helped me stand up and get off the track. He helped me up, and gave me crutches to help me walk around.<p>

"You alright Beth?" My mom asked me. I nodded.

"Yea, I'll be fine." I let go of her hand and hobbled over to the bench. I plopped myself down, and sighed. I looked over to see Henry and Vlad walking over towards me. I gave them a half-hearted smile.

"Hey, we saw you take a spill back there." Henry sat down on my left and Vlad on my right.

"Yea. I pulled a muscle in my thigh." I said, gesturing to the slight brusing. "It could be worse. I'm not supposed to run for the next couple of weeks, but at least I didn't break anything, right?" They both smiled at me.

"Well, we hope you feel better." Vlad said sheepishly. I rolled my eyes and pulled my two best friends into a hug.

"Thanks you guys." I said, letting go of them. Just then, my mom walked over.

"Alright, your time has been calculated to….." She paused dramatically before continuing. "19:50!"

"YES! That's 10 whole seconds faster than my last time!" I grinned from ear to ear, as my Mom smiled at me.

"Congratulations Beth! To celebrate, I'm taking you and your friends out to dinner!" I looked at both of my friends. Henry was the first to respond.  
>"Yea, sure, I'll just have to let my Mom know." I smiled, and gave him my cell phone to call his mom. Then I looked to Vlad.<p>

"Sure. Can I use your phone after Henry?" I nodded. Vlad stood up and smiled at me. His eyes made my hands start to shake. He reached over and touched my shoulder for a second. I felt electricity ring through my shoulder as my heart skipped a beat. My eyes followed him as he made his way over to Henry. My mom came and took his place on the bench next to me.  
>"So, does someone have a crush on Vlad?" She asked her eyes more teasing than accusing. I whipped around to face her.<p>

"What? No! I do not!" I shouted. She just laughed.

"I'm only teasing, Beth! If you say you're just friends, fine. You're just friends. But, I see the way you look at him, and, honey, I'm your mother. I recognize these things quite easily. Besides that, I just wanted to say how proud I am of you." I looked into her eyes, and saw that she was telling the truth. I smiled, and hugged her.

"Thanks Mom." I said honestly for once. As I pulled away, I saw Aimee, Lacey and Scarlet all standing a little ways away, their eyes asking for permission to interrupt me and my Mom. I waved them over, which melted the tension, and they all hurriedly walked over, as if I might disappear into thin air.

"Hey guys! This is my mom. Mom, this is Aimee Garcia, Lacey Muller, and Scarlet Duval." I pointed to each one of my friends as I introduced them.

"Hi Mrs. Henson." They chorused.

"Nice to meet you, girls. I hope you don't mind, but I'll be stealing Beth here a little early from the meet." My mom smiled and winked at them.

"Eh, it's alright. Beth here deserves a bit of a break." Scarlet said. The girls politely said goodbye and left when Vlad and Henry walked over.

"We're both good to go!" Vlad cheered.

"LETS GET SOME EATS!" Henry roared. He even pounded his chest, which made me giggle. We all piled into my Mom's car, and drove off to the closest Olive Garden. We had to drive out to Stokerton because the only _real_ restaurant in Bathory was the Eat, and the food wasn't the best. Personally, I like Olive Garden _much_ better. We decided to settle on just eating the endless breadsticks and salad as we walked in. We were guided to seats immediately at a square table. I sat next to Vlad and my Mom, and across from Henry.

"Hi, my name is Rose, and I'll be your waitress tonight. Would you like to hear the specials for tonight?" We shook our heads no, and she continued. "Could I start you off with any drinks?" We gave her our orders, and she informed us she'd be back soon with the breadsticks and salad. When we were alone, my mom started up conversation.

"So, do you boys have any classes with Beth?" She asked while taking her forks and knives out of her napkin.

"Uh, yea, I have history with her." Henry said, looking around the restaurant.

"We have Health and Music together." Vlad replied, playing with his napkin. He looked slightly distracted. My mom sighed and excused herself to go to the bathroom. I sat there awkwardly as Vlad and Henry both distracted themselves with something. Trying to get rid of the uncomfortable silence, I began to talk.

"Are you guys okay?" I said, snapping in front of their faces. Both boys instantly came back to, and looked sheepishly at their fingers. "Both of you are acting really weird. You seem really distracted." Vlad looked up at me through his bangs, and I felt my heart melt as I stared into his hidden eyes. Somehow, his dark hair covering them seemed to make him more mysterious-looking, and I couldn't help but gaze.  
>"Sorry Beth, I was just thinking about school." I rolled my eyes at the pathetic response, and when I did, I caught a familiar figure in the corner of my eyes. I looked over and gaped. I saw Mr. Otis sitting at a table not too far from ours. He was sitting alone, staring at the menu, and I was still staring when he looked up.<p>

His eyes bore into mine, and for a second, I was frightened. But as quick as the fearsome look came into his eyes, it vanished, a warm, kind smile playing his features. I gave a slight wave, which he returned. After that, he took his coat and bizarre hat, got up, and left the restaurant. I just passed it off as another weird coincidence, and went back to enjoying my dinner.

"So, how come you're not eating much, Vlad?" I teased him. "Don't like Olive Garden that much?" He chuckled.

"I guess I'm just not very hungry. I stopped home before I came to your meet, and Nelly made me eat a huge meal." I smiled at Nelly's usual over-protectiveness.

"Now you, on the other hand," I said, pointing an accusing finger at Henry, whose cheeks were puffed from breadsticks being shoved in them. "You are most certainly eating TOO much! No dessert for you!" I giggled as Henry pouted at me, still shoving food into his mouth. "I'm just kidding, Henry! Dessert for everyone!" My Mom returned, and when the waiter stopped by, we ordered Chocolate Chip cookies.

We left the restaurant not too much later, all laughing, having a great time. We dropped both of them off at their houses, waving goodbyes, smiles going all around. The ride home was silent, but different than most. Instead of an awkward, angry silence, it was a moment that would be ruined by words. I smiled at the thought, feeling the best I had in a while, despite my injuries. My mom helped my out of the car and up the stairs to my room. I plopped down on my bed, and my Mom sat down next to me.

"Beth?"  
>"Yea Mom?" I asked, turning to look her in the eyes. What I saw got me worried. I saw sadness, frustration, and I instantly wondered what had gone. "What's the matter?"<br>"Well, my boss, he… he wouldn't let me come to your meet today." I stared quizzically at her. "I begged and pleaded, and finally, he told me that if I went, I wouldn't come back to the office." She broke off and stared at the ground while I could only try to comprehend what had happened.

"Wait, so you… quit?" I asked, astonished. My Mom had never loved her job, but it certainly paid quite a lot, and I couldn't believe she'd leave it for me. Just the thought made me lean in and hug her. I smiled, my eyes watering. She kissed me on the head, told me she loved me very much, and left to go to bed.  
>That night, I wondered what would become of us, now that my mom was unemployed.<p>

_OOOH! I bet no one saw THAT coming! That's what I'm here for!_

_APOLOGY: I am so VERY sorry for not updating! I know it sounds annoying, but I have been EXTREMELY busy between starting my freshman year at high school, running cross country, meets, and having chores, busy weekends, etc. I basically haven't had a free moment until today, when my school's plumbing system malfunctioned and the water fountains started spewing pee. Gross. Our school was dismissed, my meet was cancelled, and my room is cleaned, so I thought of you and decided to finish the chapter! I love you all!_

_Besides that, I will try as hard as I possibly can to keep posting, but please pardon me if I cannot post. Thanks!_


	6. Once Upon A Dream

_Hello everyone! Ages since I last updated, and I apologize. I have been EXTREMELY busy, and I feel awful for not updating! So here it comes, chapter 6!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything you might recognize!_

**Chapter 6: Once Upon A Dream**

Mom found a job.

It took weeks of newspaper and online searching. It's not a major job- she was the secretary for some company that I couldn't remember the name of. It was a 9-5 job, but she said she would apply for some overtime here and there, so she could take off occasionally, and the pay is pretty good.

She was extremely stressed for her interview. I remember she ironed and re-ironed her outfit about 3 times, checked her makeup every five seconds, and always nervously asked me, "How do I look?" It reminded me of a kid on the first day of school, times three.

In celebration of getting the job, she got a pint of Turkey Hill ice cream- Mint Chocolate Chip flavored. We crashed on the couch and started a movie "marathon" of chick flicks. First up was Love Happens. By the end, we were both fast asleep, curled up under soft fuzzy blankets.

The next day brought along a spa-day. My mom's sister works at a day spa, so she offered her monthly discount to us. The luxurious day consisted of a soak in the hot tubs, a professional massage, fingernails and toe nails filed and polished to perfection. We even got our hair done at the end of the day, and I re-dyed my hair, and got a cute new layered cut that framed my face. I blinked as I looked in the mirror at myself. For once, I actually thought I looked pretty, maybe even gorgeous. This was definitely a feeling I was not used to.

Finally, Sunday came around, and my Mom decided to end the weekend with a bang that wouldn't hurt the wallet. We went for some low-key shopping at the mall.

If that weekend could have lasted forever, I would have had it that way. But, despite my desperate wishes, Monday morning rolled around, and I groaned as my alarm clock shrieked its horrid noises. I pounded around with my fist until I successfully turned off my alarm clock and managed to pull myself from the comfort of my bed.

I sat on the curb of the sidewalk and waited for Henry and Vlad to come up the road to walk to school. When they did, I felt Vlad's eyes on me as we walked towards the ancient building.

Vlad's were not the only eyes I felt on me that day. I caught a few others abnormally staring at me as I walked through the familiar hallways of my school. I kept my head somewhat down and blushed madly every time I realized this.

I walked into my dreadful Health class, and promptly sat in my seat in the back next to Vlad, preparing for the sleep I would make up during this period.

Finally, it was time for Music, where Ms. Pym was going to introduce us to classical composers. I walked into the usual classroom, and instantaneously saw something out of place. In my usual seat in the front sat a tall, tanned brunette with piercing blue eyes. As I got closer, I couldn't help but notice the slightly muscular arms. He wore a white shirt that only made him seem even tanner, and when I walked up to him, he flashed me a smile as white as his shirt.

"Can I help you?" He asked, his eyes staring straight into mine.

"You're in my seat." I blurted, not knowing what else to do.

"Does it have your name on it?" He teased, smiling even more. I smiled back and pointed to the part of the desk where I had scratched 'BETH' into the side. He laughed a strong laugh that gave me goose bumps to hear. He got up and gestured for me to take my place. He lingered for a moment longer, long enough to say, "Beth. That's a pretty name. It suits you. My name's Casey." He then moved on to a seat in the back. My heart fluttered as his compliment began to sink in.

In the corner of my eyes, I saw Vlad roll his eyes as he slumped into his seat beside me.

"Alright class, let's begin!" Ms. Pym said as briskly as she walked. "I would quickly like to introduce you to our new student, Casey Vercelli! Stand up and introduce yourself, Casey!" She gestured. Casey stood, and I marveled at his height. He gave a short little wave, and then returned to his seat. "Alright, now I'm sure you are ALL familiar with Ludwig Van Beethoven…" Ms Pym began, launching into her unit about the ancient composers. As she went on about how amazing it was that a deaf person could compose, I couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes boring into the back of my head. I turned around to find Casey staring at me. He gave me a short smile, and then turned his attention to Ms. Pym, who was standing at my desk.

"While I'm sure you know plenty about Mr. Beethoven, Beth, I would appreciate it if you would pay attention like the rest of the class." Ms Pym scolded, raising an eyebrow. I sank down in my seat and mumbled an apology as my cheeks turned scarlet. I heard a soft chuckle from behind me, and I knew that it came from Casey.

Towards the end of class, Ms. Pym had a brief announcement.

"I would like to inform you that there will be a music festival exactly one month from now. If you would like to participate-"I couldn't help but notice her glance in my direction, "- Then you can sign up on the sheet I have being passed around. I'll hand out more information later." I knew this would be a chance to showcase my piano skills, so when the sheet was passed around, I signed up. The bell rang shortly afterwards.

As I was packing up my books, I felt a presence of someone next to me.

"Sorry about getting you in trouble." I turned around to see the grinning face of Casey looking down at me. I rolled my eyes, but smiled.

"It's okay." I replied, collecting my books and standing up. I looked into

"Hey, I'll see you in lunch, okay?" I looked over to see Vlad awkwardly standing in front of my desk, glancing between me and Casey. I nodded, and picked up my books and began to walk out of the classroom after him. Casey caught up to me.

"Hey, umm, I don't really know anyone else- do you think I could sit with you at lunch?" I turned to face him, and he had a sheepish smile on his face, and he was rubbing the back of his head in the cutest way.

"Of course you can. I sit with Vlad from out Music class and our friend Henry." I flashed him a shy smile, and he gave me a rather thankful one in return.

"Cool." With that I turned to walk towards my locker. I grabbed my lunch and shut my locker, only to be startled by Casey standing next to me. He had another sheepish look on his face. "Ummm... I don't know where the cafeteria is." At this I laughed and led him to it. I showed him where to buy his lunch, and then left him to go join Vlad at the table.

"Is Henry buying today?" I asked, and I got a grumbled "Yes" in return. I looked up to the rather odd reply to see Vlad staring furiously at his sandwich. I giggled and said, "Are you trying to melt your sandwich with laser vision? Because it's obviously not working." He sighed and looked up at me.

"Is that guy sitting with us?" His eyes had a spark of slight hope in them.

"Firstly, that guy has a name, and it's Casey. Secondly, yes, he is. He doesn't know anyone else, so I invited him to sit with us. Is that okay?"

"Yea. Perfectly fine." Vlad mumbled, returning to staring at his sandwich. Henry came and plopped down in his seat.

"What goes on, my people?" He asked. Without waiting for a reply, he immediately began to inhale his food as if it might disappear if he didn't eat it quickly enough. I only rolled my eyes and began to eat my own sandwich. Casey came and sat down next to me. Henry looked up at Casey, and then looked questioningly at me as he shoved cheese curls into his mouth.

"Oh, Henry, this is Casey. He's in me and Vlad's Music class. Casey this is Henry."  
>"Neyshdmeedya" Henry tried to make out proper words with his mouth full. I rolled my eyes and threw a cheez-it at him, which only made him grin. Following that was a moment of awkward silence, no one really knowing what to say.<p>

"So, Casey, where'd you move here from?" I asked.

"San Diego California. It was real nice there. Warm, all the time. We lived in a Victorian styled house, and we had our own little section of the beach, all to ourselves, the house overlooking it on a hill. It really was like living in a dream…." He faded off, suddenly _extremely_ interested in the contents of his sandwich.

"Do you miss it?" I asked. He looked back up into my eyes, and I saw the answer inside them.

"Yea. You could say that…" With that, we all finished our lunches in awkward silence, none knowing what to say.

After school, Ms. Pym had allowed me to stay after school to practice my piano for a half an hour for the festival, since I didn't have a piano at home. I dropped my books on the floor and promptly dropped onto the bench. I took in a deep breath as I stared at the shining bright keys, and felt marveled, as I did every time I played the piano. I carefully lined up the music in front of me, and then delicately held my fingers over the keys. Softly at first, I began to play the Sleeping Beauty Waltz, including a personal intro I had added. I sung it softly to myself as I played.

"I know you; I walked with you once upon a dream. I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam, yet I know it's true that visions are seldom what they seem, but if I know you, I know what you do, you love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream. Da, la la ah ah ah ah. But if I know you, I know what you'll do, you'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream." I stopped abruptly, for I had realized another person had begun to sing as well. I whipped around to find a tall, well-tanned figure smiling in the doorway.

"Umm, hi Casey. I didn't realize you were standing there…." I said nervously, not very used to people hearing me sing.

As if reading my mind, he said "I thought you were great. Don't stop." Hesitantly, I tore my eyes away from him (a surprisingly difficult task), and regained my focus on the keys. As I began to play again, I heard Casey begin to softly sing as he walked closer to the piano. "I know you; I walked with you once upon a dream. I know you; the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam." He had now reached the piano and was leaning against it. His voice had grown much stronger, and my heart nearly skipped a beat as I took notice that his eyes refused to leave me. I felt myself joining him. "And I know it's true, that visions are seldom what they seem." I felt a connection beginning to grow between us, unmistakable and strong. "But if I know you, I know what you'll do, you'll love me at once the way you did once upon a dream." Our voices faded off, and I found myself staring into his eyes, our faces not too far apart. All of a sudden, a loud screeching sound made the both of us jump, and Casey chuckled as he explained. "That's my message ringtone. I gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow in school." I nodded slowly, still in a daze from what I had just experienced. I gave him a short 'bye' as he left. When he was surely gone, I felt myself say, "What just happened?"

_Sorry for the EXTREMELY overdue chapter! I just lost interest in this book, and the writer's block was just awful. Hopefully, I will be posting another chapter over my Christmas break (maybe one about Christmas?) but if not, feel free to scold me (WHILE REVIEWING :D)_


	7. Shocked

_I'M BAAAAACK! So sorry about the long wait for this chapter! Saying it is overdue is most definatley an UNDERSTATEMENT! I apologize for the delay. I was very distracted from this between school and sports and then a musical I participated in, so now that school is out I have been able to work on the chapters! I have this one ready and then the next one is already half way done! Once again I apologize for the long overdue chapter! And now I present to you- the REAL chapter seven!_

**Chapter 7- Shocked**

I woke up VERY early Saturday morning with a scream caught in my throat, unable to escape, and an icy sweat covering me, chilling me to the core. I panted as I tried to calm myself down from the dream I just woke up from.

At the beginning of the dream, I hadn't been so frightened. I had been walking calmly through an endless space of white light. I could feel that each step I took was a step of time progression, moving forward in to the future. As the dream progressed, I could sense something stirring in my peaceful little world, and soon I noticed a streak of purple fly by me. Alarmed, I slowed my pace. I could feel the hairs on my arms prickling up, due to the fact that there was extreme energy buzzing all around me. It took me a moment to realize that the purple streak had been lightning.

Once I had realized what the bizarre occurance was, I proceeded to return moving forward. Once again, lightning struck, but this time I was not so startled. Then, as I continued to move forward lightning began to strike all around me, randomly off to the sides or above me. It wasn't like how you would normally see lightning during a storm. Instead, it seemed to be starting somewhere in front of me and then striking horizontally off to the side, ending somewhere behind me.

I continued to move forward, now interested in what was causing the lightning. A small purple ball of lightning soon came in the distance. I nearly stopped again when I caught sight of it. There was something about it that made me desperately attracted to it. I kept moving forward towards it, unaware of the fact that the lightning around me was beginning to stain my white light surrounding me.

I stopped when the lightning was just within arm's reach. Curious, I reached my fingers out towards this strange ball. I could feel endless energy flowing away from it and rolling over me like waves from the ocean playfully lapping at the beach, luring all passer-by's to come in for a nice swim. I now felt as if I was in a trance, helplessly hypnotized by this lightning's strange power, and I was reminding myself of sleeping beauty. Just like the needle would bring her in to a deep slumber, I knew that touching the lightning would surely shock me, yet I still reached further. I reached out further and further until, finally, I touched it.

As soon as I made contact, I felt a strange, hungry energy enter my finger, sending ice cold shocks through my fingertips. I watched as the lightning buzzed in to my hand and I could see it through my veins as it traveled up in to my arm. I gasped out in alarm as it reached my heart. I tried to pull away from the lightning and stop the electricity from killing me, but to no prevail. I was stuck, and somehow, I didn't mind. I relaxed a bit, as I felt the cold energy seeping through my blood all over my body. It speedily covered every inch of me, cooling my skin, bringing me goose-bumps. I smiled as it reached the very tips of my toes, completely engulfing me in a cool sensation. Suddenly, the cold turned boiling hot, making me take a sharp intake of breath. I writhed around in agony from the blazing heat that had consumed me. I tried to scream, but it was no use. My throat was on fire, eating any sound that tried to leave.

I looked up at the ball of lightning to see it expanding, growing violent, throwing more and more lashes of lightning in to my crystal white world, turning it purple. I looked down and was astonished to find that I was completely surrounded in a ball of lightning. While my body was in excruciating pain, I was able to acknowledge the fact that I was being drawn in to the ball of lightning by the lightning that I was attached to. I watched as it expanded more and more until it was as tall and wide as me. Finally, the ball took me in whole, and as I felt one last agonizing ripple of lightning race through me, I recognized a face that had appeared outside the ball of lightning, also attached by lightning. I tried to warn them to escape while they had a chance, but I soon understood why they would not. The lightning was not trying to take them at all. THEY were controlling the lightning. With a wave of their fingers, the lightning faded away into an endless darkness, and I woke up.

I shuddered as I recalled the dream in crystal clarity. I remembered with a slow horror exactly who had been controlling the lightning that had consumed me.

It was Casey.

I sighed. There was no way I could go to sleep now, especially with the thought of the dream and Casey reeling through my head. I rolled over to glance at my alarm clock. It promptly told me it was 4:10 A.M. I groaned and got up. I sluggishly walked downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a box of cheez-its from the cabinet, and flopped down on recliner in the front room. I looked out the big window as I munched noisily on the cheesy squares.

I watched as my neighbor grumpily walked out of his house, clearly unhappy to have to be going to work so early. His suit was a little crumpled and his tie hung slightly off to the side. He had a plastic cup of coffee in one hand and a leather briefcase in the other. He sat his coffee down on the top of his car and fumbled around with his keys to open the door. He climbed in, started his car and then shut the door. Obviously unaware of the fact that he had left his beverage on the hood of his car, he began to back out of the driveway. As his car bounced over the edge of the driveway on to the street, the cup tipped over and spilled all over the windshield. I chuckled softly as the man angrily got out of his car, slammed the door, and stomped back in to his house to get something to clean it off with. Still smiling, I started to drift off to a more peaceful sleep.


End file.
